The KILN Vision

Imagine that you, in your current journey of integrating and sharing NVC, are like a clay pot. The clay pot has form and shape, but is missing the final transformation needed to hold water and fulfill its purpose.

You are looking for your own process of fire; a process that brings together what you offer - your uniqueness, passion for change, knowledge and skills - with the heat of support, structure, experience, collaboration, commitment and connections.

This is the vision for KILN: to fire and inspire you to be a powerful vessel in the world.

What is KILN?

KILN is a ten-month immersion program for people who have been studying NVC (at least 10-20 days of training) and who are on the path to becoming NVC Trainers. It is a hands on opportunity for collaboration and stepping into the leadership role of a trainer. It offers a unique combination of experiences (eg. retreat, online calls, camp, and projects) within a supportive community of fellow learners, all guided by experienced and creative Certified Trainers.

We see NVC as a powerful approach and worldview to support movements, organizations and individuals working towards important social and environmental changes and initiatives. We believe there is a great need for compassionate, conscious leaders to guide these shifts to a more life-affirming culture. We want to both be this kind of leader, and support others to step towards this as well.

The goal of KILN is to support each individual’s integration and unique expression of NVC, to explore NVC-based approaches towards greater social goals, and to assist candidates to complete the CNVC requirements for Certification. The program is lead by CNVC Trainers Angela Walkley and Mitch Miyagawa with direction and guidance by CNVC Assessor Penny Wassman.

I approached Mitch and Angela to create this program because I recognized there were a number of very able individuals already offering NVC in Western Canada who had expressed an interest in certification. I wanted to support them (and interested people from other areas) on their journey. I specifically asked Angela and Mitch because they are very familiar with my approach to certification, live in British Columbia, and also because I hold them as highly skilled and experienced educators living and sharing the NVC process with enthusiasm, commitment and full hearts. Mitch and Angela’s feedback will be invaluable to both me and the candidates. - Penny Wassman

KILN is for...

Registered NVC Trainer Candidates who are:

change-makers, active in social organizations, groups, or enterprises

yearning to contribute towards the kind of world they long for through nonviolence and compassion

You may be at different stages of your certification process, such as:

just beginning your work with your assessor and are looking for a supportive community and structure

have been contributing and offering NVC, but haven’t pulled all the pieces together for certification

completed the on- paper requirements, and are looking for support in pulling it all together and integrating the knowledge with your way of being and showing up in the world.

Concrete Outcomes from KILN

A supportive community and structure for moving through the certification process

20 days of training (which can contribute towards certification)

“Assignments” throughout the year that dovetail with your assessor’s requests for submissions

Mentorship and feedback from at least 2 Certified Trainers

Exposure to a diversity of ways of holding, living and expressing NVC

A year of diving inward and mastering NVC from the inside out

An opportunity for exploring your own unique strengths and expressions of teaching NVC

Creativity and fun! Along with the depth work that happens with NVC, we offer lightness and laughter along the way.

Program Elements

This program includes a variety of different settings and experiences for your learning, some of which may be “edgy” for you. While we absolutely value the workshop/retreat setting, we want to create as many applied, experiential, and real-life opportunities as possible. This is an intentional approach to “raise the heat” for our work together.

Online kick-off (first and second call) - January 31, and February 7 (Wednesday)

Detailed Description of Program Elements

Bi-weekly calls:

These online calls will be facilitated through webinar software that supports us to meet, dialog, present and break into small groups. You will be able to see and hear everyone. The calls will cover certification topics, such as key distinctions and will also be used to support the applied projects and lived experiences of integrating NVC consciousness. Participants will also have a chance to lead calls later in the year.

(While referred to as bi-weekly calls, there are times when the calls will be weekly in preparation for projects or for expanding the exploration of a topic without losing the thread. We will also build in time (particularly in August) when we will take a break from the weekly calls.

Residence (6 days):

This will be held on Gabriola Island at a venue TBA (based on number of participants). Mitch and Angela will lead these residences. Guest trainers may also be invited to participate. Some of the key elements of this residence will follow three different threads:

Personal - Life Integration

Sharing and Facilitating with NVC:

Inspiring Social Change:

Mini Social Change Project with one of our local Gabriola Island community groups

Summer NVC Jam and Camp (7 Days):

Gabriola NVC Jam and Camp takes place at Descanso Bay Campground on Gabriola Island. KILN participants will join the camp hosts in leading NVC offerings at the Summer Camp.

Immediately prior to the camp is the NVC Jam. This is an opportunity for the trainers and trainer candidates to bring their course offerings and jam on ideas, innovations and creative by-products linked to their offerings. Work on the jam offerings takes place in the days and months leading up to the Summer Camp.

The jam is an amazing opportunity to play creatively with new and revised ways of sharing NVC. You may want to try something new, get ideas and input or invent something with the group. The Summer Camp is then the opportunity to engage campers in the end result (or stick to your trusted material - that’s fine too!)

Camp will also provide lots of live opportunities to process dynamics within the group.

For potential participants who don't enjoy camping or have never camped before, please be aware that you'll be responsible for looking after your own living arrangements.

Lessons learned, celebration and closure (4 days):

We will gather together to mark the end of the program, and make space for reflection, for final feedback, for sharing celebrations and mournings. We may also look at ways to continue collaboration and contact between group members.

Personal Project:

Participants will take on a relationship or personal growth edge and do processing/ actions around it through the year (eg. I'm going to raise issues with my mother; I'm going to really dive into self empathy around this challenging situation at my work; I'm going to take steps to reconcile that conflict in my life; etc…)

Change Project:

Participants will work in pairs or groups to carry out an NVC-based project for a particular group, organization, or community (of faith, culture, location, etc..). Examples of this could be providing empathy to key members of an organization making a difficult decision, holding space for dialogue between 2 “sides” of an issue, an Empathy Day at a school, or the creation of a short video presentation.

KILN participants will be supported to design the process for their social change project. The lessons learned in getting the project off the ground, the experience itself and the results are all part of the learning process and will be shared with the group.

Support Triads:

Participants form groups of threes to take the broader group discussions to greater depth. These groups will also be used to touch base on the progress and insights coming from writing journal entries based on topics provided (aligned with certification requirements).

Mentorship/feedback:

Participants will be matched with Mitch, Angela or another trainer to receive mentorship and feedback. Feedback from at least 2 Certified Trainers will be provided towards your certification.

Requests for Participating in KILN

Here are the factors we think about when we decide whether our program would be a mutual fit for an individual candidate. Please get in touch with us about how you relate with these requests.

Candidate registration with an assessor

Recommendation by a CNVC Certified Assessor or Trainer

Diversity - of age, gender, background, etc

Focus on bringing NVC into the entire weave of life, not just professionally

Willingness to engage in difficult conversations

Desire to contribute to the group (self awareness/self responsibility)

Sense of fun, creativity and innovation

Commitment to both of the retreats, the camp and the bi-weekly zoom calls

Organizers/Lead Trainers

Mitch Miyagawa (MFA, CNVC Certified Trainer)

Mitch’s “magic” as a facilitator is his blend of insight, humour, empathy, and humility. He brings creativity and depth to groups and individuals, and believes passionately in the promise of more interdependent relationships and cultures. Mitch has extensive experience facilitating for individuals and organizations across Western Canada, as well as online.

Mitch is also a diversity educator and an award-winning writer and documentary filmmaker. He received the 2013 Writers Guild of Canada’s Screenwriting Award for his documentary A Sorry State, about the meaning of government apologies.

Mitch and Angela live on Gabriola Island, BC, with their sons Tomio and Sam, and various other creatures.

Angela Walkley(MA in Leadership, CNVC Certified Trainer)

Angela has facilitated key decisions, conflict situations, collaboration and dialog among First Nations, non profit, government communities and social change makers for over 20 years. She has led training in leadership, participatory/integrative land management, and of course Nonviolent Communication. She is passionate about creating positive change in this world through our own self awareness and shifts in the ways we relate to one another (and ourselves). She is particularly enchanted with sharing how increasing our consciousness of our breath and body responses can transform our experience of life.

Angela sees NVC as a path towards consciousness. It is an approach that leads to greater inner freedom, connection with others and positive contribution in the world. She also sees it as a powerful tool for meditation, facilitation, leadership and collaboration. She believes that embracing the consciousness sharpens the tool allowing it to transform both the hearts and minds of people.

In addition to her work with farthestshore.org, Angela offers retreats through her company Yo! Om! (Yoga On and Off the Mat www.yoom.ca)

Penny Wassman is a Certified Trainer, an assessor for North/South America for the Center for Nonviolent Communication and a member of CNVC’s International Education Team. An original founder of the BC Network for Compassionate Communication in British Columbia, Canada, Penny has offered trainings in the Nonviolent Communication process to people in Canada and in the USA since 1999. At present, wanting to support her health in managing Parkinson’s Disease, she is no longer offering trainings though is delighted to continue to support candidates with her assessor service. She lives in Cowichan Bay, British Columbia with her beloved husband Ray and sweet kitties Tommy and Suzie Q.

Guest Trainers

Wes Taylor has been working full time in the discipline of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) since 1998. Currently he is an Organizational Development Consultant with the Vancouver Island Health Authority and specializes in relational transformation and cultural evolution. He loves helping leaders and teams realize progressive ideas and aspirations. He is devoted to seeing the beauty in everyone and uses this practice in coaching individuals and teams in their own development or finding a path toward connection with others, particularly those they hold as obstacles or adversaries.

Wes was a founding partner with the NVC Training Institute, a partnership of senior trainers who provided advanced NVC training in N. America and Eurpoe from 2000 until 2012. His background includes a wide variety of training and management consulting services including serving as the founding Executive Director of the Flagstaff Center for Compassionate Communication. His passion for needs-based leadership and organizational functioning began during his initial 15 year career in psychotherapy where systems theory and developmental process were fundamental to his work.

Additional Costs:

In additional to program costs, you will incur costs for your travel, accommodation, and food during the two retreats and one camp.

We’re open to giraffe-style requests and needs-based negotiation around finances

We work hard to keep the costs low in an effort to keep this program accessible to a broad range of people, while still meeting basic sustainability needs.

How to Apply

Please send an inquiry to farthestshore@shaw.ca with a brief introduction (1-2 paragraphs), and a list of what NVC training you've done, what NVC training or work you've offered, and why you're interested in the program.